Machine for erecting a carton blank to a carton

ABSTRACT

Method and apparatus for erecting carbon blanks having preformed fold lines in which flat carton blanks are pressed into a pair of cavities, whose stationery bases are offset in height relative to one another for forming the lid and tray portions, by a descending male die member of complementary configuration, which is urged into the two cavities. After the side panels of the lid and tray portions are erected, two pairs of fingers undergo rotational and reciprocating motion to fold glue bearing edge flaps into their assembled position to maintain associated side panels in their erected position. The carton blank is provided with biasing tabs to urge the triangular folds of the carton blank into the proper position in readiness for folding of both the tray and lid edge flaps.

United States Patent Wallin et al.

July s, 1975 MACHINE FOR ERECTING A CARTON BLANK TO A CARTON Inventors:Kay Arne Wallin; Bengt Anders Ewjen; Jan lngemar Nilsson, all ofHalmstad, Sweden Assignee: Sprinter Pack AB, Halmstad,

Sweden Filed: May 11, 1973 Appl. Not: 359,449

Foreign Application Priority Data Dec. 21, 1972Sweden.......................,..... 16812/72 US. Cl. 93/51 l-IW; 93/51R; 93/51 M Int. Cl. 1331b 1/46 Field of Search 93/51 HW, 51 R, 47, 39 R,93/55.] R, 36 R, 36 B, 49 M, 51 M [56] References Cited UNITED STATESPATENTS 2,189,105 2/1940 Evans et 93/51 R 2,643,592 6/1953 Geffroy2,841,058 7/1958 Bickford 93/51 R X 2,937,578 5/1960 Dorfmann 93/51 R XPrimary Examiner-Roy Lake Assistant Examiner-James F. Coan Attorney,Agent, or Firm-Ostrolenk, Faber, Gerb & Soffen 5 7 ABSTRACT The cartonblank is provided with biasing tabs to urge the triangular folds of thecarton blank into the proper position in readiness for folding of boththe tray and lid edge flaps.

14 Claims, 14 Drawing Figures PATENTEDJUL' 1 15 SHEET 1 MACHINE FORERECTING A CARTON BLANK TO A CARTON This invention relates to methodsand machines for erecting a carton blank to a carton. Primarily theinvention relates to the erection of cartons which are comprised of abottom portion in the form of a tray and a lid portion in the form of afurther tray which is hingedly connected to the bottom portion and fitsoutside its side walls when closing the carton. More particularly theinvention relates to the erection of such bot tom trays and lid trayswhich at two opposite side panels are extended with edge flaps which areto be folded down against the insides of the side panels and are to besecured to these by means of gluing.

It is previously known to erect the blanks under consideration bypressing them down into two adjacent shafts or openings by means of aplunger. At the upper ends of the shafts are provided means for foldingthe side panels of the trays to their erected position and which foldsthe corner portions between the ends of the side panels. In a certainposition within the shafts the carton has been erected and its partshave been secured to each other by means of a glue or other bondingmedium. The bonding medium may be comprised of a heat sealable layer onthe blank or it may consist of blue bead lines which are applied to theblank before it is pressed down into the shafts. When in the shaft thecarton in its erected position will be subjected to the action ofpressure members which during a predetermined interval will act againstthose parts of the carton which shall be connected with each otherthrough gluing. According to the known methods and machines the cartonis thereafter subjected to a continued downward vertical displacement tothe open bottom end of the shaft where the carton is delivered to aconveyor device.

In the known machines the carton is merely guided by the plunger and thewalls of the shaft. This means that the bottom of the carton is free tomove when the pressure members act on the carton at the portions of thecarton to be glued. However, in practice it has been found that theparts of the carton may be displaced relative to one another in a mannernot desired so that these parts in the ready-made carton will not bemaintained in their correct positions in relation to each other.Displacement of the parts in relation to each other is obtained due tothe fact that the parts of the cartons will not be kept safely incorrect positions when they are acted on by means of the pressuremembers at the places to be glued.

One object of the invention is to provide a method and a machine formaintaining the parts'of the carton in their correct positions inrelation to one another when the carton is acted on by pressure membersat the portions to be glued.

Another object of the invention is to provide a method and a machinewhich in relation to known machines will enable the plunger to be movedthrough a shorter travel during both its vertical up and down movementin order to enable an increased working capacity for reciprocating cycleof the plunger.

These and other objects of the invention will appear from the followingdescription of two embodiments of the machine according to the inventionshown by way of example in the accompanying drawings.

In the drawings:

FIG. I is a perspective view of a blank intended to be erected to acarton having a bottom tray and a lid tray which is hingedly connectedwith one edge of the bottom tray.

FIG. 2 is a diagrammatic perspective view of the carton as nearly fullyerected.

FIG. 3 is a diagrammatic plan view of a portion of the erectingapparatus and a carton being erected in position in two juxtapositionedshafts of the apparatus.

FIG. 4 is a diagrammatic longitudinal section through the two shafts inFIG. 3 showing the reciprocal plunger in its upper end position and amovable supporting member in contact with the underside of the lid atthe hinged connection between the lid and one side edge of the bottomtray.

FIG. 5 is a diagrammatic perspective view of the machine with certaindetails omitted for the sake of clarity.

FIG. 6 is another diagrammatic perspective view of the machine withcertain details in FIG. 5 omitted and other details being shown in orderto disclose the driving connections to certain movable parts of the machine.

FIG. 7 is a top plan view of the main parts of the machine with certaindetails omitted for the sake of clarlty.

FIG. 8 is a longitudinal section through the two shafts corresponding toFIG. 4 but with still more details shown in order to explain thefunctions of the details.

FIG. 9 is a diagrammatic cross-section through the machine at the deeperone of the two shafts.

FIG. 10 is a diagrammatic longitudinal section through the two shaftsand through the plunger located therein, the plunger having its bottomplates in their bottom position in order to hold the bottoms of the lidtray and the bottom tray against stationary bottom supports.

FIG. 11 is a diagrammatic front view of the machine for disclosing theconnections between certain movable details in the machine.

FIG. 12 is a perspective view of an alternative carton blank which maybe erected in the machine of the present invention.

FIG. 13 is a perspective view of the carton blank of FIG. 12 showing themanner in which certain portions thereof are folded preparatory toerection of the carton blank.

FIG. 14 is a perspective view of a nearly erected carton erected fromthe blank of FIG. 13.

The blank in FIG. I is comprised of a bottom portion and a lid portion.The bottom portion has a bottom panel 10, four side panels l2; l4, l6,l8 and corner gusset portions 20 which in a known manner connect theends of the side panels and are arranged to be folded double along theirdiagonal fold lines 22 upon erecting the blank. The double folded cornerportions form fiaps 24 (see FIG. 2) which are intended to be secured bygluing to the inside of the adjacent side panels (for example, see sidepanel 14 of FIG. 2) or to be kept in the folded position through someother technique. In the example shown they are adapted to be secured bymeans of edge flaps 25, 26 which form extensions of the two oppositeside panels l4, l8 and are arranged to be folded down over the cornerflaps and secured by gluing to the inside of the adjacent side panel.

The opposing side panels 12, 16 of the bottom portion have no edge flapswhich require folding. One side panel 16 is hingedly connected along itsupper edge with the bottom 28 of the lid portion, fold line 30,constituting the hinge connection.

The lid portion has three side panels 32, 34, 36 which at their adjacentends are connected by means of corner portions 38, 38 which are adaptedto be doublefolded in the manner of portions 20, 20. In the erected lidportion these corner portions 38 form triangular flaps-40 intended to besecured in a position along the adjacent side panel. In the exampleshown the two opposite side panels 32, 36 are extended, each with anedge flap 42, 44 which is folded down over the triangular corner flaps40 and secured by gluing to the adjacent side panel. FIG. 2 shows flap42 before being folded against side panel 36 and corner flap 40.

FIG. 6 shows diagrammatically a plunger 45 for pressing the blank ofFIG. 1 downwardly into two adjacent shafts 44, 46 (FIG. 3) of unequalheight (see FIG. 4) in order to erect the side panels of the lid portionand the bottom portion as the blank is pushed into the shafts.

The plunger 45 is provided with two bottom plates 48, 50 (see also FIG.4) located in this example at different levels which correspond to thelevels of shafts 44, 46 respectively. The lower bottom plate 50 isadapted to press against the bottom panel of the carton blank bottomportion and has substantially the same size as bottom panel 10. Theupper plate 48 is adapted to press against the bottom 28 of the lidportion and has substantially the same size as this bottom. The twobottom plates are rigidly connected with each other in this embodimentof the machine and are carried by a common vertical shaft 52 which isactuated by a driving mechanism not shown in detail to be moved (i.e.,reciprocated) between an upper end position and a lower end position.The upper end position of the plunger is shown in FIG. 4 and in FIG. 9in dotted lines and its lower end position is shown in FIGS. 9 and 10.The driving mechanism for moving the plunger is synchronized along withthe movement of the other movable parts of the machine. At its oppositeside edges the two bottom plates are each provided with a plurality offingers 54, 56 (FIG. 6) along opposite parallel sides of the bottomplates as will be explained in greater detail below.

As will be seen from FIGS. 4 and 10, the one shaft 46 is deeper forreceiving the bottom portion of the carton, whereas the other shaft 44is elevated above shaft 46, has a smaller depth and is intended toreceive the lid portion. of the carton.

The shaft 46 for the bottom portion is defined by two oppositestationary side pieces 58, 60 (FIG. 3) which are secured to the frame ofthe machine, the frame being denoted generally by reference numeral 62.Some of the details of the frame are not shown in the drawings. However,a number of frame members are shown which carry certain of the movalbeor stationary parts of the machine which are necessary for theperformance of certain important functions in connection with thepresent invention. The intent of omitting certain details in theillustration is to facilitate the understanding of the drawings.

The two other opposite sides of the shaft for receiving the bottomportion of the carton are comprised at one side by the pivotally mounteddoors 64, 66 which are selectively rotated about vertical shafts 65, 67(FIGS. 3, 5) from a closed position where they form the downstream sideof the shaft 46 to an open position which is indicated in FIG. 5. At theother side of the shaft 46 is a vertically movable support member 68(FIG. 4) which is adapted to rest against the underside of the bottom 28of the carton lid adjacent the fold line 30 between the lid portion andthe bottom portion as indicated in FIGS. 4, 8, and 10.

The shaft 44 for receiving the lid portion (FIG. 3) is defined by twoopposite stationary side pieces 70, 72 and a transverse side piece 74which is stationary. The side pieces are intended to cooperate with theside panels 32, 34, 36 of the lid portion for erecting the same.

At the upper ends of the two shafts are members 75 (FIG. 3) and 76 (FIG.5) which in a known manner per se is intended to cooperate with thecorner (gusset) portions between the side panels for folding thesecorner portions to form corner flaps 24, 40 (FIG. 2) which are urged tolie against their associated side panels in the carton when erected.

In the shaft 44 of the lid receiving portion is a stationary bottomsupport 78 which forms part of side piece 74 and extends forwardlytoward vertically movable support member 68 as will be understood fromFIGS. 3, 4, 8 and 10.

In the shaft 46 at the bottom portion is a stationary bottom support inthe form of two parallel longitudinally extending stationary rails 80,82 (FIGS. 3, 5). These rails extend beyond the downstream end of shaft46 for the bottom carton portion as is shown in FIGS. 3, 5 so as to forma conveyor for the carton when erected in a manner to be describedbelow.

The carton blank 84 (see FIGS. 1, 3, 4, 9) is picked up from a supply Sof such blanks arranged in a vertical fashion (FIG. 4) by means of apair of arms A-A (FIGS. 3, 4) each having a plurality of suction teats.The arms A, A grab" the right-hand-most blank from blank from Supply Sand rotate the blank to a horizontal position above a table having anelongated slot 191 for receiving linearly movable closed loop chains192, 192 guided by suitable sprockets and driven by a motor (not shown)to move the chains in the downstream direction shown by arrow 194 (FIG.4). The vacuum in arms A, A is released causing the carton blank to droponto table 190. The chains 192 are provided with upwardly extendingpushers which abut the upstream or left-hand edge of the carton blank(FIG. 4) and move the blank toward the erecting position.

As the blank is moved in the direction of arrow 194 a pair of glueapplicators 196 are moved vertically downward by means not shown forpurposes of simplicity so that their glue dispensing ends are above thecarton blank. An elongated bead or strip of glue is first simultaneouslydeposited along edge flaps 25, 26 (see FIG. 1). Thereafter, a secondpair of glue applications 1960, 196a are moved vertically downward asedge flaps'42, 44 pass beneath the glue applicators 196a, 196a tosimultaneously lay down a stripe or bead of glue along each of theseedge flaps. As the rearward edges of flaps 25, 26 pass the applicatorsI96, 196 they are deactivated and moved upward. Similarly, as therearward edges of flaps 42, 44 pass applicators 196a, 196a, they aredeactivated and moved upwardly. Alternatively, the second pair ofapplicators 196a, l96a may be dispensed with and replaced by a mechanism(not shown) for moving applicators 196, 196 outwardly immediately afterlaying down beads on edge flaps 42, 44,

so as to lay down beads on edge flaps 25, 26 when the flaps receivingthese beads pass beneath applicators 196, 196.

The pushers" 195, 195 continue to move the carton blank downstream so asto move above shafts 44, 46. The marginal edges of the blank move upon apair of horizontally aligned guides 197 (FIGS. 4, 9) as the blankcontinues to move along its forward marginal edges engaging a pair ofdiagonally aligned guides 198 forcing the forward edges to movediagonally (i.e., downward and to the right) until the forward edgesengage a pair of stationary stops 199 which halt any further movement ofthe carton blank in the downstream direction.

Thereafter, the plunger 45 is moved downwardly to press the blankdownwardly into the two cavities or shafts 44, 46 to such an extent thatthe bottom of lid portion 28 rests upon the stationary bottom support 68(FIG. 4) and the bottom 10 of the bottom portion will rest against thestationary bottom rails 80, 82 (FIGS. 5, 6). The two bottom panels 28,10 are pressed against the stationary bottom supports by means of thebottom plates 48, 50 of the plunger. The two bottoms of the carton andits side panels will thus be secured in a very accurate and fixedposition. The corner portion 20, 20 engage upwardly projecting members64a, 64b as the blank is moved downwardly by plunger to bend the cornersalong their fold lines. The corner portions 38, 38 are similarly bentalong their fold lines by upwardly extending projection 76 (see FIG. 5).

The edge flaps 25, 26, 42, 44 at the opposite side panels are thenfolded inwardly and downwardly to engage the adjacent side panels. Thisfold operation is performed by means of devices in the form of fourpivotally journalled and vertically movable members 86, 88, 90, 92 (seeFIG. 6) each having a number of L shaped fingers 94, 96. These membersare provided at each of the two opposite sides in the two shafts 44, 46(FIG. 6). When the edge flaps 25, 26, 42, 44 are secured by gluing overthe corner flaps 24, 40 the movable fingers 94, 96 will return fromtheir pressing position (FIGS. 5, 6, 7, 8) to their resting positionwhich is indicated by dotted lines in FIG. 9. The plunger 45 will thenhave been moved from its lower end position (solid lines in FIG. 9) toits upper end position (dotted lines in FIG. 9). The carton is nowerected and is moved out from the shafts. The doors 64, 66 are opened sothat the downstream side of the shaft 46 will be opened. Parallel withthe stationary bottom rails 80, 82 are two endless chains 98, 100 (seeFIG. 5) which carry upwardly extending vertical rods 102 spaced fromeach other along the length of the chains. The chains are moved apredetermined distance so that the rods 102 next behind the bottom trayas erected will be brought to engagement with the bottom tray and feedthe carton along the rails 80, 82 and out through that side of the shaftwhich has been opened. The erected cartons are then fed between B-Bentrained about rollers R which may be power driven or free-wheeling.

Following the above general description of the main parts of the machineand their functions, the various devices will now be described more indetail.

As will be seen from FIGS. 7, 8, l and 11, the support member 68 iscomprised of a T-shaped plate which in the example shown is comprised oftwo L-shaped parts (FIG. 11). The upper edge of the plate forms asupport surface or edge 104 which is intended to support the undersideof the bottom panel 28 of the lid portion adjacent the hinge line 30(FIG. 10) when the side panels of the bottom tray are erected in theshaft 46 due to the downward movement of plunger 42. In FIGS. 8 and 11,support member 68 is shown in its upper-most position in dotted linefashion and in its lower-most position in solid line fashion. Thesupport member 68 is carried by an arm I06 which is pivotally journalledon a stationary shaft 108.

A link is pivotally connected to arm 106 by pin 111 (FIG. 10) and issubjected to a to-and-fro movement of a rotating cam which issynchronously driven with the movable parts of the machine. When theblank 84 is fed into a position on side supports 112 in the startingposition indicated by dotted lines in FIG. 9 beneath the plunger 45 inits upper end position, the support member 68 is in an upper positionwhere its support edge 104 will be located at a predetermined heightabove the stationary bottom support 78 in the shaft 44 for the lidportion. The support edge 104 of the support member has its upper endpositioned at a level located higher than the upper side of the sidepieces 70, 72 (see FIG. 3) and forms a vertically movable side piece forthe shaft 46 to support side panel 16. When the blank is drivendownwardly off the supports 112 by plunger 45 so as to rest on thesupport edge 104 of the support member, the plunger 42 will then startto fold the bottom portion of the carton over the support edge 104 anddown into the shaft 46 for erecting the side panels 12, 14, 16, 18 ofthe bottom portion. At the same time the support member will besuccessively lower. Thereafter the bottom plate 48 will start to pressdown the lid portion into the shaft 44 for erecting the side panels 32,34, 36 of the lid portion. Lowering the support member 68 is thenprovided to follow this downward movement of the plunger in order toform a support against the bottom of the lid portion adjacent the foldline 30 when erecting the side panel 16. The support member 68 controlsthe erection of the side panel 16 of the bottom portion and moves panel16 to a vertical position upon maintaining a satisfactory guide of thecarton portions which will result in the carton portions being erectedand moved to an exact position in relation to each other.

The support member 68 is pivotally mounted to arm 106 by shaft 114 andis actuated by a spring 116 which is provided to bias the support member68 to make sliding contact with the front edge of the stationary bottomsupport 78 or other stationary guides in such a way that the supportedge 104 of the support member will assume the different positions shownin FIG. 8 as it moves along a path extending from the uppermost positionof the support member shown as 68 in dotted fashion (FIG. 8) to alowermost position shown in solid line fashion in order to be in contactwith the bottom 28 of the lid portion adjacent the fold line 30 betweenthe bottom 28 of the lid and the adjacent side panel 16 of the bottomtray as the blank is moved downwardly by plunger 42. Spring 116 acts tonormally urge arm 68 counterclockwise about its pivot 114 and allowsedge 104 to properly rest itself against the carton blank in the regionof fold line 30 (FIG. 2).

As referred to above the two bottom plates 48, and 50 of the plunger areprovided with a number of straight fingers 54 and 56 at the side edgesof the plate. These fingers are spaced with such a distance from eachother and are located in such positions relatively to the movablefingers that the fingers of the plunger may pass between the movablefingers when these are in their position for pressing against the edgeflaps 25, 26, 42 and 44 upon gluing the same to the inside of the sidepanels and the plunger 45 is moved from its lower end position to itsupper end position.

As will be seen from FIG. 9 the bottom plate 50 is provided with anumber of vertically aligned plates 118 (see FIG. 6) extending upwardlyand having their outer vertical edges positioned adjacent the inside ofthe side pieces 58, 60 (see FIG. 3) of shaft 46 in order to formsupports against the side panels when their edge flaps 25 and 26 arebeing folded inwardly and downwardly in the manner described below.

Since all four members 86, 88, 90 and 92 for folding the edge flaps aredesigned in the same manner, merely one member 90 of these four memberswill be described in detail with reference to FIGS. -11.

A block 120 (FIG. 6) is pivotally journalled on a horizontal shaft 122carried by a pair of arms 124 which are secured to a hub 126 rotatablyjournalled on a stationary shaft 128 which is carried by a pair ofbrackets 130 on the frame of the machine. At the lower side of this hubis secured a pair of arms 132 which at their lower ends are connectedwith a link 136 shown in dot ted fashion (FIG. 11), in turn, issubjected to a reciprocating movement from a crank lever 138 secured toa shaft 140 which is rotatable between two end positions.

The pivotal movement of the block about the shaft 122 is controlled by asubstantially vertically aligned link rod 142 (FIG. 9) whose upper end104 is hingedly connected to the block 120 by pin 122a whose lower endis connected with a cam-controlled crank arm 160 to carry out apredetermined movement up and down. Crank arm 160 pivots aboutstationary shaft 161. A linking arm 162 (shown in phantom line fashion)links arm 160 to a similar crank arm I63 pivoted about shaft 164. Crankarm 163 is linked to an arm 165 by link 166 (shown in phantom) and pivotpins 167, 168. Arm 165 (FIGS. 6, 11) is mounted to pivot about shaft 169by collar 170. Arm 165 has a rotatable cam follower roller 171 whichfollows the periphery of cam 172.

On the block 120 are secured the L-shaped fingers 175 which have a freedownwardly directed outer arm 175a provided with an end surface which isintended to rest against the adjacent edge flap when starting thefolding of the edge flap.

At least some of the fingers may be provided with a nail shapedprojection 177 (FIG. 9) at the end of the finger. The nail extendsbeyond the end of the finger 175a in order to be able to engage the freeedge of the flap at the beginning of its folding movement and so thatthe finger may maintain its engagement with the edge flap.

In the starting position shown in dotted line fashion 175' in FIG. 9,all fingers are located in pockets 152 on the back side of the sidepiece 60, the front side of which is smooth. This starting position isshown by dotted lines for the right-hand set of fingers in FIG. 9.

In the right-hand position of FIG. 9 is shown the folding member 92 withits parts in three different positions, namely, in the resting positionin dotted line, where the arms 146 are positioned in the recesses 152and the edge flap 26 is shown in an upright position in dotted lines, inthe pressing position where the arm 146 engages the edge flap 26 whenfolded down and presses this flap against the side panel 18 for gluingto the same, and in an intermediate position in dotted lines where thearm 96 with the end of its arm 146 has folded the edge flap 26 to aposition where the flap is directed inwardly. These positions andintermediate positions are obtained in the following manner.

From the resting position the fingers are raised by rotating the blockabout its shaft by means of the link rod 142 until the ends of thefingers have been positioned at a higher level than the upper side ofthe side piece shown in dotted line fashion as position 175".Thereafter, the arm is turned inwardly by rotating hub 126 about shaft128 so that the fingers will be moved to contact with the adjacentvertically upstanding edge flap (see edge flap 26 in FIG. 9). Thefingers will engage the free edge of the edge fiap so that the nail 177will engage closely above the edge of the edge flap. Thereafter, thearms will be substantially standing still and the continued movement ofthe fingers will be effected by pivoting the block 120 about its shaft122 by downward movement of the link rod 142.

The ends of the fingers will then follow a substantially circulararc-shaped path having its center adjacent the fold line of flap 25 (and26). When the edge flap reaches a position substantially at right anglesto the adjacent side panel, the end surfaces of the fingers will releasetheir contact with the edge flap and then the inside surfaces of thefingers will make this contact. On the inside of the fingers are elasticpressure members 1751; which now rest against the edge flap. When theedge flap is positioned substantially parallel along to its side panel,the arms are pivoted somewhat outwardly which results in the pressuremembers elastically pressing against the edge flap in order to subjectthe same to a pressure during a predetermined interval so that the gluebetween the edge flap and the side panel will have time to harden.During this interval the plunger will be redrawn to its upper endposition and the next blank is fed to its position beneath the plunger.This is permissible due to the fact that the gaps between fingers 175permit the fingers 56 of bottom plate 50 to freely pass therethrough.

The movement of the movable fingers, the doors, the plunger and thesupport member are synchronized by means of members known per se andcontrolled for predetermined mutual movements by means of cam discs asindicated diagrammatically in the Figures where a number of links aremerely indicated by dotted lines. The intermittent drive of the chainsis also synchronized in relation to the movements of said parts by meansof devices known per se.

When the gluing is ready, the fingers are returned to their restingposition. Meanwhile the doors 64, 66 (FIG. 3) have been opened and whenthe chains are being driven, the ready erected carton is moveddownstream by pushers 102 on chains 98, (FIG. 4) to be fed out on therail between two endless conveyor belts B, B which feed the carton toany desired place.

FIG. 12 shows an alternative embodiment 84 of the carton blank of FIGS.1 and 2 wherein the carton blank 84' differs from blank 84 in that it isprovided with a short edge flap 12a joined to side panel 12 by a foldline 12b and having outwardly extending tabs 12c and 12d joined to flapby fold lines 12e and 12f, and an elongated panel section 340 integrallyjoined to side panel 34 and having additional fold lines 34b, 34c and34d, a pair of fold lines 34e and 34f which hingedly join tabs 34g and34h thereto, and a pair of fold lines 34j 9 and 34k which hingedly jointabs 34m and 34:1 thereto.

In a pre-folding and pre-gluing operation performed prior to theerecting operation of the carton flap 12a is folded along line 12bagainst side panel 12 (FIG. 13) and glued. However, tabs 12c and 12d arenot glued to corners 22, 22. Also, panel section 34a is folded inwardlyand glued so that fold line 34c is aligned with fold line 34p (FIG. 12),fold line 34d is aligned with 34 fold lines 34e and 34j are aligned withfold line 34r, and fold lines 34fand 34k are aligned with fold line 34s.Outer-most flap 34! is folded against the upper part of sidewall 16 asshown best in FIG. 14. However, tabs 34g, 34h, 34m and 34n are not gluedto the corners 38, 38, 20 and 20, respectively.

The carton blanks 84' shown as folded and glued in FIG. 8b constitutethe blanks used in the erection operation described hereinabove. Theerection operation performed on blanks 84' is identical to thatdescribed hereinabove except that the tabs l2d--l2d, 34g-34h and 34m-34nperform the following function (since all of the aforementioned pairs oftabs function in substantially the same manner, only one such set oftabs will be described herein for purposes of simplicity).

As the blank is moved downwardly into the cavities 44, 46 the sidepanels 12, 14, 18, 32, 34 and 36 are moved to their upward verticalpositions. Simultaneously therewith, the triangular corners are foldedinwardly as shown in FIG. 14. The tabs 12: and 12d are bent inwardlyagainst the triangular corners 22, 22 and act to urge the foldedtriangular corners toward side panels 14 and 18 so that the foldedcorenrs will lie beneath the edge panels 25, 26 when they are foldeddownwardly and inwardly in the same manner as previously described forthe carton blanks 84.

Tabs 34m-34n similarly urge folded corners 20, 20 against side panels 14and 18 so that they will be beneath edge flaps 25 and 26; and tabs34g-34h urge folded corners 38, 38 against side flaps 36, 32 so thatthese folded corners will lie beneath edge flaps 42 and 44 when theseedge flaps are folded downwardly and inwardly in the manner previouslydescribed.

We claim:

1. Apparatus for erecting cartons from a substantially flat carton blankhaving tray and lid portions, side panels forming the sides of said trayportion and side panels forming the sides of said lid portion whereinsaid lid portion is hingedly coupled to one of said tray portion sidepanels along a fold line, said apparatus comprising:

blank receiving means having first and second cavities positionedadjacent one another and each having a stationary floor and a commonpair of sidewalls;

said floors being positioned adjacent one another;

reciprocating plunger means having first and second bottom surfacesrespectively cooperating with the floors of said first and secondcavities;

said first and second surfaces being adapted to respectively enter saidfirst and second cavities when said plunger is moved in a cartonerecting direction to press the lid and tray portions of a carton blankrespectively against said first and second floors and cause said lid andtray side panels to be moved to the erected position;

means for moving the erected carton out of said cavities when saidplunger moves in a reset direction.

2. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the cavity having the lower floor isprovided with a stationary interior wall extending toward the floor ofsaid remaining cavity for engaging and erecting the side panel of saidblank hingedly connected to said lid portion.

3. The apparatus of claim I further comprising a movable wall positionedabove said lower floor and arranged in a spaced parallel manner relativeto said stationary interior wall when in a closed position and movableto an open position when said plunger moves toward its reset positionfor enabling the erected carton to be removed from said cavities.

4. The apparatus of claim 3 further comprising swingable meanspositioned beneath the upper floor and having a free edge movablethrough an opening in said upper floor adjacent said intermediate wallto a position above the upper floor whereby said upper edge engages thefold line between the tray portion side panel and the lid portion toinitiate bending of the carton along said fold line as said plungermoves in the erecting direction;

said swingable means being movable downwardly when the carton blank isurged against said upper edge by said plunger whereby said upper edge ismoved to a position substantially flush with the upper floor.

5. The apparatus of claim 1 further comprising pusher means movableacross said lower floor and toward said movable wall when said movablewall is in the open position to push the erected carton out of saidcavities.

6. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said carton blank is provided withtriangular corner flaps which form gussets in the corners of the lid andtray portion side panels;

means positioned adjacent the tops of said cavities and cooperating withsaid plunger for folding the corner flaps inwardly when the plungermoves into the cavities in the erecting direction.

7. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the marginal edges of the tray andlid portion side panels arranged transversely to said hinged connectionare each provided with edge flaps bendable along fold lines spacedinwardly and parallel to the free edges of the edge flaps;

folding means for folding the edge flaps inwardly and downwardly againstthe interior sides of the side panels to which they are joined.

8. The apparatus of claim 7 wherein the gussets in the corners of saidtray and lid portions are positioned to lie against the transverselyaligned side panels to be positioned between said transversely alignedside panels and their associated edge flaps when the edge flaps are intheir final folded position.

9. The apparatus of claim 8 further comprising means for applying anadhesive material to all of said edge flaps;

said edge flap folding means including means for pressing the edge flapsoutwardly after being folded to seal the edge flaps to their associatedside panels and guessets.

10. The apparatus of claim 8 wherein said edge flap folding means iscomprised of L-shaped arms whose free ends are provided with notches forcapturing the free edges of said edge flaps as the edge flap foldingmeans move the edge flaps inwardly from their unfolded position toassure proper positioning of the edge flaps to complete their foldingand sealing operation.

ll. The apparatus of claim 7 wherein the side panels of said tray andlid portions which are parallel to the hinged connections and the trayportion side panel hingedly connected to the lid portion are eachprovided with bendable tabs extending outwardly from their sides andtoward the adjacent side panels to abut the corner gussets and urge themagainst the side panels having edge flaps to assure proper positioningof the corner gussets during the folding and sealing of the edge flaps.

12. The apparatus of claim wherein the L-shaped arms are arranged atspaced intervals and the bottom surfaces of said plunger are eachprovided with a plurality of spaced fingers extending toward the sidewalls of said cavities wherein the fingers are positioned in the spacesbetween said L-shaped arms to enable the plunger to move out of thecavities toward the reset position when the L-shaped arms are pressedagainst the edge flaps.

13. The apparatus of claim 10 wherein the L-shaped arms are arranged ina plurality of groups, each group being adapted to fold and seal one ofsaid edge flaps;

the ends of said L-shaped arms opposite said free end being joined to arigid block;

a rotatably mounted hub;

a pair of arms having their first ends secured to said hub;

said block being pivotally mounted between the second ends of said pairof arms;

first drive means for rotating said hub to swing said block toward andaway from said cavities;

a rod pivotally connected to said block and second drive means coupledto said rod to swing the free ends of said L-shaped arms into and out ofsaid cavities',

means for controlling said first and second drive means to be sequencedto move the free ends of the L-shaped arms upwardly. then inwardlytoward its associated cavity, then downwardly into said cavity and thenoutwardly against the edge flaps in said cavity to fold and seal theedge flaps to their associated side panels, then upwardly and outwardlyfrom its cavity. 14. Apparatus for erecting cartons from a substantiallyflat carton blank having tray and lid portions, side panels forming thesides of said tray portion and side panels forming the sides of said lidportion wherein said lid portion is hingedly coupled to one of said trayportion side panels along a fold line, said apparatus comprising:

stationary blank receiving means having a cavity defined by a first pairof spaced parallel sidewalls;

the floor of said cavity having a pair of spaced parallel rectangularstationary surfaces extending between said side walls and forming upperand lower step like floor portions;

an intermediate wall aligned transverse to said side walls and extendingbetween the adjacent edges of said upper and lower floor portionsforming a riser therebetween; the upper floor portion having an end wallparallel to said riser and extending between said side walls;

reciprocating plunger means having first and second bottom surfacesdisplaced from one another by a distance substantially equal to thedisplacement distance between said floor portions;

said first and second surfaces being adapted to respectively enter saidcavity when said plunger is moved in a carton erecting direction topress the lid and tray portions of a carton blank respectively againstsaid first and second floor portions and cause said lid and tray sidepanels to be moved to the erected position;

means for retaining the erected blank in the cavity as the plunger meansis lifted from the cavity;

means for moving the erected carton in a direction transverse to themovement of said reciprocating plunger means to eject the erected cartonout of said cavity when said plunger means moves out of the cavity inthe reset direction.

1. Apparatus for erecting cartons from a substantially flat carton blankhaving tray and lid portions, side panels forming the sides of said trayportion and side panels forming the sides of said lid portion whereinsaid lid portion is hingedly coupled to one of said tray portion sidepanels along a fold line, said apparatus comprising: blank receivingmeans having first and second cavities positioned adjacent one anotherand each having a stationary floor and a common pair of sidewalls; saidfloors being positioned adjacent one another; reciprocating plungermeans having first and second bottom surfaces respectively cooperatingwith the floors of said first and second cavities; said first and secondsurfaces being adapted to respectively enter said first and secondcavities when said plunger is moved in a carton erecting direction topress the lid and tray portions of a carton blank respectively againstsaid first and second floors and cause said lid and tray side panels tobe moved to the erected position; means for moving the erected cartonout of said cavities when said plunger moves in a reset direction. 2.The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the cavity having the lower floor isprovided with a stationary interior wall extending toward the floor ofsaid remaining cavity for engaging and erecting the side panel of saidblank hingedly connected to said lid portion.
 3. The apparatus of claim1 further comprising a movable wall positioned above said lower floorand arranged in a spaced parallel manner relative to said stationaryinterior wall when in a closed position and movable to an open positionwhen said plunger moves toward its reset position for enabling theerected carton to be removed from said cavities.
 4. The apparatus ofclaim 3 further comprising swingable means positioned beneath the upperfloor and having a free edge movable through an opening in said upperfloor adjacent said intermediate wall to a position above the upperfloor whereby said upper edge engages the fold line between the trayportion side panel and the lid portion to initiate bending of the cartonalong said fold line as said plunger moves in the erecting direction;said swingable means being movable downwardly when the carton blank isurged against said upper edge by said plunger whereby said upper edge ismoved to a position substantially flush with the upper floor.
 5. Theapparatus of claim 1 further comprising pusher means movable across saidlower floor and toward said movable wall when said movable wall is inthe open position to push the erected carton out of said cavities. 6.The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said carton blank is provided withtriangular corner flaps which form gussets in the corners of the lid andtray portion side panels; means positioned adjacent the tops of saidcavities and cooperating with said plunger for folding the corner flapsinwardly when the plunger moves into the cavities in the erectingdirection.
 7. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the marginal edges of thetray and lid portion side panels arranged transversely to said hingedconnection are each provided with edge flaps bendable along fold linesspaced inwardly and parallel to the free edges of the edge flaps;folding means for folding the edge flaps inwardly and downwardly againstthe interior sides of the side panels to which they are joined.
 8. Theapparatus of claim 7 wherein the gussets in the corners of said tray andlid portions are positioned to lie against the transversely aligned sidepanels to be positioned between said transversely aligned side panelsand their associated edge flaps when the edge flaps are in their finalfolded position.
 9. The apparatus of claim 8 further comprising meansfor applying an adhesive material to all of said edge flaps; said edgeflap folding means including means for pressing the edge flaps outwardlyafter being folded to seal the edge flaps to their associated sidepanels and guessets.
 10. The apparatus of claim 8 wherein said edge flapfolding means is comprised of L-shaped arms whose free ends are providedwith notches for capturing the free edges of said edge flaps as the edgeflap folding means move the edge flaps inwardly from their unfoldedposition to assure proper posiTioning of the edge flaps to completetheir folding and sealing operation.
 11. The apparatus of claim 7wherein the side panels of said tray and lid portions which are parallelto the hinged connections and the tray portion side panel hingedlyconnected to the lid portion are each provided with bendable tabsextending outwardly from their sides and toward the adjacent side panelsto abut the corner gussets and urge them against the side panels havingedge flaps to assure proper positioning of the corner gussets during thefolding and sealing of the edge flaps.
 12. The apparatus of claim 10wherein the L-shaped arms are arranged at spaced intervals and thebottom surfaces of said plunger are each provided with a plurality ofspaced fingers extending toward the side walls of said cavities whereinthe fingers are positioned in the spaces between said L-shaped arms toenable the plunger to move out of the cavities toward the reset positionwhen the L-shaped arms are pressed against the edge flaps.
 13. Theapparatus of claim 10 wherein the L-shaped arms are arranged in aplurality of groups, each group being adapted to fold and seal one ofsaid edge flaps; the ends of said L-shaped arms opposite said free endbeing joined to a rigid block; a rotatably mounted hub; a pair of armshaving their first ends secured to said hub; said block being pivotallymounted between the second ends of said pair of arms; first drive meansfor rotating said hub to swing said block toward and away from saidcavities; a rod pivotally connected to said block and second drive meanscoupled to said rod to swing the free ends of said L-shaped arms intoand out of said cavities; means for controlling said first and seconddrive means to be sequenced to move the free ends of the L-shaped armsupwardly, then inwardly toward its associated cavity, then downwardlyinto said cavity and then outwardly against the edge flaps in saidcavity to fold and seal the edge flaps to their associated side panels,then upwardly and outwardly from its cavity.
 14. Apparatus for erectingcartons from a substantially flat carton blank having tray and lidportions, side panels forming the sides of said tray portion and sidepanels forming the sides of said lid portion wherein said lid portion ishingedly coupled to one of said tray portion side panels along a foldline, said apparatus comprising: stationary blank receiving means havinga cavity defined by a first pair of spaced parallel sidewalls; the floorof said cavity having a pair of spaced parallel rectangular stationarysurfaces extending between said side walls and forming upper and lowerstep like floor portions; an intermediate wall aligned transverse tosaid side walls and extending between the adjacent edges of said upperand lower floor portions forming a riser therebetween; the upper floorportion having an end wall parallel to said riser and extending betweensaid side walls; reciprocating plunger means having first and secondbottom surfaces displaced from one another by a distance substantiallyequal to the displacement distance between said floor portions; saidfirst and second surfaces being adapted to respectively enter saidcavity when said plunger is moved in a carton erecting direction topress the lid and tray portions of a carton blank respectively againstsaid first and second floor portions and cause said lid and tray sidepanels to be moved to the erected position; means for retaining theerected blank in the cavity as the plunger means is lifted from thecavity; means for moving the erected carton in a direction transverse tothe movement of said reciprocating plunger means to eject the erectedcarton out of said cavity when said plunger means moves out of thecavity in the reset direction.